Alcohol abuse and alcoholism represent a tremendous burden on society. In the United States, the annual economic burden of alcohol abuse and alcoholism is estimated to be 185 billion dollars due to lost productivity, medical, legal and property damage. The current estimate of the number of Americans that meet the diagnostic criteria of alcohol abuse or dependence is 14 million. Abusive alcohol consumption, defined as >6 drinks per day and 20% of daily calories in the form of alcohol, is co-morbid with brain, heart, liver, pancreatic, and kidney disease states. Moreover, alcohol abuse is a cofactor in cancer, reproductive, and immune system dysfunction.
A number of potential markers of alcohol abuse have been studied, including gamma-glutamyltransferase, carbohydrate deficient transferrin, and mean corpuscular volume. These markers lack the specificity and selectivity to positively identify drinkers while simultaneously not falsely identifying non-drinkers as described in Hannuksela et al., Clin Chem Lab Med., 2007, 45(8):953-61.
Thus, there is a continuing need for biomarkers that specifically and sensitively identify non-consumption, moderate consumption and high consumption of ethanol in a subject.